After defeating the OKC Thunder in Game 1 in Oklahoma, the San Antonio Spurs seem to be losing their edge in this series. Despite having the second-best defensive rating in this playoff, the Spurs' defense struggled against the league's top offense

Despite having an off night in shooting, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 26 points. 12 of the reigning MVP’s points came from ‌free throws. Rather than complaining about the free throws, Mitch Johnson, the Spurs coach, blamed it on the lack of discipline from his players. 

“I think probably half of them were from undisciplined,” he told reporters during the press conference.

“First off the floor, he got us out of position and took advantage of it. So, I'll have to go back and look. I can't remember all how he got all 12 free throws, but I know a few of them were pretty good defense.”

The Spurs led after the first quarter, but the Thunder dominated the next three quarters. Despite poor shooting, the reigning MVP continued to attack San Antonio’s defense and drew fouls in the second half. 

“It's tough because he gets to spots and he makes tough shots, but you've got to keep fighting that urge to try to do more and stay with it."

"You look at it, he's 6 for 17, which means whether he missed some shots or we made them tough or a little combination of both, but those 12 free throws helped out a lot. I can remember at least a few on my head right now that were undisciplined on our end,” Johnson added.

Despite Gilgeous-Alexander's shooting struggles, he relied on his teammates to score. The Thunder star recorded 12 assists and was +11 in the 36 minutes.

Victor Wembanyama shoulders the blame for Game 3 loss

The Thunder vs. Spurs Game 1 saw one of the best individual performances from Victor Wembanyama. But since then, the Thunder have been able to significantly limit Wembanyama's impact on the game.

Wembanyama didn’t put up terrible numbers in Game 2, but Isaiah Hartenstein was able to make him work for every shot.

In Game 3, the Spurs star had 26 points on 8 of 15 shooting from the field. However, the biggest shocker was his four rebounds in 39 minutes. 

After the game, Wemby told reporters that he hasn’t been very helpful to his teammates in these two losses. 

"I feel like I have trouble making my teammates better right now,” he said. " That’s why I should do better…I need to be more of a team player."

The Thunder continued their Game 2 strategy and maintained that intensity in Game 3. They refused the Spurs' stars any access to the paint area on both ends of the floor, leading to fewer shots and fewer rebounds. 

Game 4 of the series on Sunday can dictate the eventual result of the Western Conference Finals.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Koushik Biswas